December 2012 Marquette Golden Eagles Wiretap

MILWAUKEE – Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers was moved to tears, red-eyed, on Saturday night when asked about his former Marquette coach, Rick Majerus. Rivers spent all three of his seasons with the Warriors under then-assistant Majerus, and it was in a summer camp where the coach gave him the longstanding nickname “Doc.”

After compiling a 517-216 record at four colleges, Majerus passed away Saturday at the age of 64 due to heart failure.

“That’s a tough one for me,” Rivers said after the Celtics’ 91-88 loss to the Bucks. “He’s the one who gave me my name. I knew before [the game] that he wasn’t going to make it through tonight. I don’t want to talk too much about it.”

Majerus had a tremendous run at Utah from 1989 to 2004, leading the university to a 323-95 record. He became Marquette’s head coach in 1983, following Rivers’ departure through the NBA draft.